Be Amazing

This week on the Be Amazing podcast, Jennifer Van Barneveld joins us from Ontario, Canada.  Jennifer has been in fitness her entire life starting as a little girl training in the basement with her dad.  She grew up and built a personal training and nutrition business, and since September 2020 she’s been settling into her newest role as the President of STRONG Fitness Magazine.  Having grown up in fitness, it wasn’t until unhealthy training and diet habits lead to Jennifer fainting on the gym floor while training a client that she made a transformational shift to create a sustainable, maintainable fitness regime and lifestyle.  When she was able to find her new “strong”, Jennifer started Strong Girls to support women’s journeys in  living their best lives.  Listen in to our conversation and learn bits of wisdom from this busy mother/trainer/executive like not focusing on a timeline because the journey is the reward. Get ready to be motivated as Jennifer encourages us to stop waiting and start doing because action beats anxiety.

The Be Amazing podcast will give you the fuel you need through motivational pep talks, the fitness tips to be your healthiest self, fortitude to push through hardships, and focus you need to build the skills needed for the next level - no matter what that looks like to you. Your host, Cel Smart, is here to be your biggest cheerleader, advocate, and connector.

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This week join me in my interview with Allison Lilly, a now 56 years young fitness extraordinaire that’s been teaching just about every kind of fitness class invented since the mid 80s.   Allison shares the wisdom that she’s gained on her own path of overcoming repeated injuries that began back in her 20s.  Hear how Allison accepts these challenges as God’s little humbling processes to keep our egos in check and to close doors so new ones can open.  Learn her advice for setting limits on your pity parties, focusing on what you can do rather than what you can’t, and constantly being on the lookout for new ways to reinvent yourself so you’re ready for the next thing, whatever it will be, whenever it comes. 

The Be Amazing podcast will give you the fuel you need through motivational pep talks, the fitness tips to be your healthiest self, fortitude to push through hardships, and focus you need to build the skills needed for the next level - no matter what that looks like to you. Your host, Cel Smart, is here to be your biggest cheerleader, advocate, and connector.

Connect with Me: 

Do you feel stuck in a relationship that is toxic?  Have you lost hope? My next guest on the Be Amazing Podcast is Lori Honeycutt, and she shares her story of how her dream of getting married turned into a nightmare that she lived in for years.  Lori opens up about the daily turmoil she felt and how she found hope in the midst of the pain.  Listen in to hear how her faith in God and strong support system gave her the courage to leave.  Lori is no longer just surviving, she is THRIVING!  She is now married and has a step daughter.  You can also find Lori every day on social media sharing her passion for fashion.  This passion has also given her the opportunity to work with Trades of Hope and their mission to help women.  Get ready for this incredible conversation with Lori. 

The Be Amazing podcast will give you the fuel you need through motivational pep talks, the fitness tips to be your healthiest self, fortitude to push through hardships, and focus you need to build the skills needed for the next level - no matter what that looks like to you. Your host, Cel Smart, is here to be your biggest cheerleader, advocate, and connector.

Connect with Me: 

For those loyal fans of the Be Amazing podcast who tune in weekly, you may remember episode 38 when I interviewed Grace Gallagher, founder and owner of SweatNET.  Well, today I am excited to introduce you all to Ashley Fortune, one of the most recent affiliates to join the SweatNET family in Pittsburgh, PA.  SweatNET is an online and monthly event based fitness community that brings fitness  lovers and boutique fitness studios together for fun, fitness, savings and friendship.  When Ashley relocated to her fiancés hometown of Pittsburgh from hers in Seattle, she was eager to establish new relationships and get involved in the local community.  Having been a member of SweatNET Seattle, Ashley already had an appreciation for the value of the community, but it wasn’t until she moved away that she realized how much she had grown to love what it offered.  Realizing the void in the local marketplace and her desire to help others find the same connections she was seeking, Ashley set out and launched SweatNET Pittsburgh in the beginning of 2020.  Months later when the COVID pandemic forced businesses to shut down across the globe, listen to how advice from her stepfather when she was a little girl inspired her to be brave, fake it til she made it, and just do it.  I know we can all find inspiration in Ashley’s words when she emphatically proclaims through many of the challenges that she’s faced and overcome in life , “I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m going to go for it”.

Follow her on Instagram @sweatnetpgh

The Be Amazing podcast will give you the fuel you need through motivational pep talks, the fitness tips to be your healthiest self, fortitude to push through hardships, and focus you need to build the skills needed for the next level - no matter what that looks like to you. Your host, Cel Smart, is here to be your biggest cheerleader, advocate, and connector.

Connect with Me: 

I couldn’t be more excited to introduce this week’s guest on the Be Amazing podcast, my new friend from Hotlanta, Missy Mostrom “aka” Miss Priss.  Missy and her best friend and business partner opened VESTA Movement kickboxing studio in 2014.  Growing up an ADHD suffering troubled teen, Missy spent much of her early years drinking, smoking and partying, when she wasn’t working as a bartender in a pool hall.  Her lifestyle did not include much exercise until she attended a kickboxing class at an MMA gym and a switch was flipped.  When her friends started expressing an interest in experiencing kickboxing with her, but they were intimidated training in MMA gyms, the idea to open a boutique studio came to fruition.  

Now with two studios in Atlanta, Missy is sharing her passion for kickboxing and fitness in a big way.  In addition to being a certified trainer, Missy is a brand ambassador for several fitness brands like lululemon, Society Nine, and Nooma. You may have also seen her in Adidas ads, as she was featured in their 2019 Run Campaign.  Listen in to meet Missy and hear some of her story

Follow her on Instagram @missprissatl and @vestamovement

The Be Amazing podcast will give you the fuel you need through motivational pep talks, the fitness tips to be your healthiest self, fortitude to push through hardships, and focus you need to build the skills needed for the next level - no matter what that looks like to you. Your host, Cel Smart, is here to be your biggest cheerleader, advocate, and connector.

Connect with Me: 

If you’ve ever done any online workouts you very likely already know a bit about my next guest on the Be Amazing Podcast.  Sydney Cummings has become a YouTube sensation providing free online workouts every single day at 5am.  Sydney and her fiancé Dustin have scaled this free online fitness page to a multi-faceted fitness and nutrition conglomerate that includes everything from custom merchandise, nutritional products, an online paid membership community, and complete fitness media company.  You’re not going to want to miss this story of how a sweet small town girl from West Virginia has repeatedly overcome adversity and turned it into her “why” of never forgetting to truly LIVE each day.

Sydney went to West Virginia University on a full academic and athletic scholarship for track & field.  Having never lifted a weight prior to college, Sydney had no intentions of pursuing a career in fitness until a part-time personal training gig scratched an itch she didn’t even know she had.  As fitness has evolved and boutique gyms with expensive membership fees became the norm, Sydney made it her mission to make fitness available to everyone with no barriers.  Listen in as we hear about this incredible journey and how things kicked into high gear when adversity struck twice and both times Sydney and Dustin pushed through with more tenacity than ever.  

The Be Amazing podcast will give you the fuel you need through motivational pep talks, the fitness tips to be your healthiest self, fortitude to push through hardships, and focus you need to build the skills needed for the next level - no matter what that looks like to you. Your host, Cel Smart, is here to be your biggest cheerleader, advocate, and connector.

Connect with Me: 

Today’s guest is Grace Gallagher, an entrepreneur, lover of all things fitness, and a new mom to a baby boy.  Grace is a former athlete having swam and played soccer all growing up to swimming throughout high school and college.  Once she entered the corporate world, fitness took a back seat until she and her husband relocated to Charlotte from Chicago.  Knowing nobody, she turned back to fitness as a way to seek personal connections in her new city.  When she could find no central resource for highlighting all of the diverse fitness offerings in Charlotte, she began creating one through her blog.  After visiting and blogging about more than 100 different fitness studios throughout the city, she decided to create SweatNET.  SweatNET is a community of fitness lovers, new comers to Charlotte and now 12 other cities, with 16 new cities coming on board in the next few months.  SweatNET hosts events each month that are FREE to members, and they offer discounts at almost every fitness studio in town.  Check them out at www.sweatnet.com

Now get ready for an incredible conversation with Grace, learn about her, and get some great advice about finding life, work, health balance by giving yourself grace and asking others for what you need.

The Be Amazing podcast will give you the fuel you need through motivational pep talks, the fitness tips to be your healthiest self, fortitude to push through hardships, and focus you need to build the skills needed for the next level - no matter what that looks like to you. Your host, Cel Smart, is here to be your biggest cheerleader, advocate, and connector.

Connect with Me: 

Are you a solopreneur or small business owner that thinks hiring a publicist is too expensive for you?  Then, this podcast is for you.  Meet Arden and hear how she consults with clients to discover their “why” and tell their story of their authentic self to those that will want to hear the message.  Arden understands that not everyone can afford thousands of dollars per month to keep a PR firm on retainer, which is why she focuses on short term projects and has a PR club where she provides online education and tools for DIY entrepreneurs looking for help for less than $50 per month.  Arden has a degree in journalism from UNC Chapel Hill.  When the job offers didn’t come rolling in as she expected upon graduating.  Arden quickly began honing her skills in networking and self promotion.  Hear how she’s taken those lessons learned and combined them with her natural role as a supporting character to highlight and elevate her client’s businesses.  Stay tuned for an incredible conversation with Arden.

I know we can all learn something from my next guest, Suzanne Libfraind, a fashion stylist, wardrobe consultant, and personal shopper.  We’re going to get a bunch of great fashion tips and tricks, but we’re also going to hear about Suzanne’s daily mantra of relentlessly moving forward.  Her passion for helping others look and feel their best stems from her own body image struggles as a young teen.  One of her favorite fitness activities for many years has been tennis, but always trying to push her comfort zone, Suzanne has recently become a triathlete and ran her first half marathon in early 2020 before COVID hit.  Listen in to a great conversation about evolving ourselves as we age, and evolving our wardrobe along with us on the journey.

Follow Suzanne on IG: @suzannelibfraind

Today my guest on the Be Amazing Podcast is Taylor Calamese.  Hear what happens when the coach is forced to become her own student and push through.  So many of us have faced hardships and challenges in 2020 since the start of the COVID Pandemic.  Taylor was scheduled to open a new and larger gym than she had ever had in April of 2020.  COVID lock downs halted construction and left her full of fear and doubts.  Hear how Taylor listened to her own advice to just “see it through because if it’s for you, it’s for you.” She persevered and is now holding private individualized luxury fitness experiences in her new facility by UNCC called Charlotte Fit.